EMERGING AIRCRAFT TARGET DATES The following are target dates for emerging aircraft. These dates, supplied by the airframe manufacturers, are subject to change--and frequently do--as a result of design revisions, funding, testing delays or extensions, and/or the resolution of unforeseen problems. Each month, this table will endeavor to show the most-current schedule. Manufacturer Model Milestone Target Date AASI Jetcruzer 500 Certification 3rd Quarter 1998
The Time-Alert, Model ATC-100 timer from SoftComm fits inside any style headset and allows pilots to time holding patterns, balancing fuel in tanks and more. This flying aid is a programmed micro-computer that will operate immediately at the press of the switch. To install in the headset, the user needs to drill a one-quarter-inch hole on the headset dome, then mount the control switch through the hole and place the other tiny parts inside the dome. The Time-Alert is powered by a standard battery. Price: $49.95.
New from II Morrow are the Apollo GX50 TSOed panel-mount GPS navigator with moving map display (shown, $3,995) and the Apollo GX60 GPS/Comm ($4,995). Each model has a high-resolution electroluminescent graphic display with 12,800 pixels, making it readable from any cockpit position in all lighting conditions. Airports, runways, VORs, NDBs and special-use airspace can be displayed on the moving map. Five ``smart keys'' are positioned just below the display to allow the user to declutter maps and to program flight plans.
Short-term leasing of Cessna 500s--as short as one month--is the latest service from Sierra Industries of Uvalde, Texas. Called Flightime, the program takes care of all costs except for the pilots, aircraft storage and fuel.
An ``enhanced-performance'' Jetstream 32 package has been developed by British Aerospace Asset Management-Turboprops (AMT) that improves hot-and-high performance and load-carrying capability. The first delivery went to Corporate Express, a Nashville-based new-start (see B/CA, September, page C4).
Two large hangars at Sussex County Airport in Georgetown, Del. will soon be bustling with renewed activity after being vacant since 1990, when the Helmsley family shut down their former aircraft modification and completion center, Georgetown Aircraft.
Program Director Earl Robinson said it at the Paris Air Show in June; Fairchild Dornier confirmed it in late September. The 328JET will cruise at 400 knots--25 knots better than advertised. Most other specifications and performance parameters remain the same. Maximum takeoff weight remains at 33,047 pounds, with a 20,282-pound operating empty weight and a 7,518-pound maximum payload.
British air charter broker Air London has opened a U.S. office in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Greg J. McClasky, formerly senior director at Renaissance Cruises, was named president of the new venture--Air Partner Inc. Air London, based at London's Gatwick Airport, already has subsidiary offices in Paris and Cologne, Germany under the Air Partner name.
The sales tally for the Boeing Business Jet stood at 25 aircraft at press time, including two for Geneva-based PrivatAir, which has two more BBJs on option. Meanwhile, Airbus Industrie said it has booked seven commitments since launching a business jet version of the A319. Both companies say there is a market for about 24 aircraft per year.
The order book for the Premier I hit the 100 mark at the NBAA convention in September, and Raytheon also reported brisk interest in the Hawker Horizon, based on reaction to a new, full-scale cabin mockup on display at the show. The Premier I program was announced at NBAA in 1995, and the Hawker Horizon program debuted at the 1996 convention. Both programs have been refined over the last 12 months.
A retrofit kit upgrading Allison 250-C20R engines is scheduled to be available in early 1998. Allison says the Super C20R mod increases hot-day power by up to 20 percent and reduces fuel consumption by up to 10 percent. Allison also is working on a Model 250-C21 with a 500-hp gearbox and a -C22 with FADEC.
Head-up display manufacturers are designing enhanced vision systems allowing aircraft to land safely in Category III weather on a Category I runway in conditions down to 700 feet RVR. For example, Gulfstream Aerospace plans to obtain EVS certification with a GEC-Marconi/Honeywell HUD/EVS and an all-weather window infrared sensor from Kollsman on a G-V. Meanwhile, Flight Visions, together with a sensor manufacturer, is preparing to offer EVS capabilities for its HUD products.
AAI Corp.'s weather systems unit, the prime federal contractor for the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), was purchased by All Weather, Inc., a company established by the ASOS management team, and investment bankers Ridge Capital and North Star Capital. Of the more than 900 ASOS installations, 411 have been commissioned by the FAA or the NWS at U.S. airports, says the company. The company will remain headquartered in Hunt Valley, Md.
The Wide Area Augmentation System is designed to enhance GPS performance by calculating and transmitting a correction to GPS position error. WAAS will use an array of up to 48 ground reference stations, which, like local differential systems, monitor GPS signals and compare their known location to their GPS-derived position. The reference stations feed their position data to wide area master stations that determine the integrity of the information and correct for position error.
Mid-Continent Instrument Co.'s Slim-Line Pro (MD41-1000) series GPS annunciator control units are designed to dovetail with the new approach-certificated GPS receivers. To do the job, these instruments combine navigation source switching to the pilot's primary course deviation indicator or HSI with key GPS selection and annunciation functions. The two-part, one-pound system includes a 2.75-inch-wide and 3.2-inch-deep panel-mount display and selector unit. A separate, remote-mount relay switching unit (also shown) provides up to 24 independent relay poles.
FBOs want to please their customers. But the customers--the business aviation flightcrews and their supporting organizations, the flight departments--must take some responsibility for communicating their needs to the FBOs. In this age of flight phones, datalink services--not to mention cell phones, faxes and e-mail--there is little excuse for not calling ahead and specifying one's needs.
Sikorsky recently obtained FAR Part 29 Category A certification for its S76C+ and S-76B. The certification means that should an engine fail during the initial climb, the aircraft can land or continue climbing (depending on its proximity to the takeoff decision point).
One of the enduring themes of literature is the arrival of an unassuming hero who unexpectedly confronts the forces of evil and ultimately triumphs over them. One of the earliest examples is the biblical account of David and Goliath in which the fearsome Philistine warrior is felled by a simple stone propelled by David's sling. Thousands of similar stories have captured the imagination of generations of readers and moviegoers because the theme of the underdog beating the bad guys is so compelling.
The results are in, and the winner is the state of Tennessee, thanks to the tremendous, positive impact of general aviation, according to a recent study. Tennessee's Department of Aeronautics has produced ``Tennessee Means Business,'' a 12-minute videotape trumpeting the fact that GA generates $3 billion for the state and is responsible for 49,000 jobs every year.
In May 1998, Cessna will replace the standard 600-shp Caravan 208 with the Caravan 675 powered by the same 675-shp P&WC PT6A-114A in the Grand Caravan. Claimed performance improvements are: rate of climb, from 1,050 fpm to 1,225 fpm; 50-foot obstacle takeoff distance, from 2,210 feet to 2,000 feet; max cruise at 10,000 feet and 20,000 feet, from 184 knots to 188 knots and from 176 knots to 181 knots, respectively.
Continental Express in late September moved its entire ground operation at Houston (now George Bush) Intercontinental Airport into a newly renovated Terminal B from Terminal C. The additional space will allow COEx flight operations to be increased by more than 25 percent over the next five years. The carrier currently operates 46 takeoffs and landings at IAH.
Bob Kunkel, director of the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics, was elected chairman of this organization representing state government aviation agencies.
Nav Canada has decided it can manage the airspace ``efficiently and effectively'' with fewer centers. By March 1998, the agency expects to have completed a study to determine the optimum number of ATC center facilities. But before any changes are made, Nav Canada says, ``We will conduct extensive safety and technical studies and ensure the appropriate safety measures are in place.''
